MI–0003 Recorded August 28, 2026
Emotion makes the decision; logic makes the case
People make decisions emotionally, then justify those decisions with logic after the fact.
Refined insight
People often decide with emotion and recruit logic afterward to defend the decision.
The underlying insight
Facts alone may fail to change a position because the position can be serving an emotional need, identity, preference, fear, or desired outcome. Effective persuasion therefore begins by asking questions that uncover what the person wants, values, or fears.
A better alternative can then be framed as a stronger way to achieve that underlying objective, after which evidence and logic can support the new direction.
A life learning by Tim and Sonja Barrie
Where this insight comes from
Tim and Sonja Barrie learned this one the old-fashioned way: by watching people, including ourselves, make enough decisions over enough years. No doubt books, conversations and things encountered online helped shape it, but we could not find a reliable source for this exact wording. So, with a modest flourish, we claim some credit for articulating it as a life learning of our own. The research below explores close psychological relatives of the idea rather than the source of the wording.
Ziva Kunda on motivated reasoningJonathan Haidt on intuition and reasoning